Tonneau covers are generally deployed over the bed of a vehicle, such as and without limitation a typical "pick-up", truck, in order to shield the contents of the bed from view, sunshine, and/or inclement (e.g. rainy) weather. Particularly, the tonneau cover is normally provided as part of an overall tonneau cover assembly. Such an assembly normally includes several members which may be selectively and removably connected to cooperatively form a frame or tonneau cover supporting structure. Particularly, some or all of these members are normally adapted to be removably deployed upon the various bed rails of the vehicle and, when properly deployed upon these rails and properly connected, are adapted to cooperatively provide a supporting structure upon which the tonneau cover rests and is capable of being moved between a first "stored" position in which the cover is generally folded or rolled in a manner which allows most or substantially all of the truck or vehicle bed to be exposed and a second operative or extended cab overlay or covering position in which most of the bed is covered. Of course, the tonneau cover may also be deployed so as to only partially cover the bed of the vehicle in one of many intermediate positions between the previously delineated first and second positions.
One of the primary uses of these tonneau covers and associated assemblies is to keep the bed of the vehicle and those items placed within the bed dry or substantially moisture-free. Hence, it is highly desirable to provide tonneau assemblies which form a substantially waterproof or moisture-proof seal over the vehicle bed, thereby protecting the bed and the contents of the bed against moisture or water damage. Therefore, it is highly undesirable for a tonneau cover assembly to allow rain or moisture to enter the bed of the vehicle once the tonneau cover is removed from its rolled or stored position to its fully extended operative bed covering position, since such moisture may damage or destroy the items located in the bed. Those very items are to be protected by the tonneau cover assembly from just this very sort of moisture related damage.
One of the major drawbacks associated with many of these prior tonneau cover assemblies is that these prior assemblies allow rain or other types of moisture to enter or "seep through" the assembly, thereby causing the protected bed and associated contents to become wet, even though the tonneau cover was fully extended to its cab covering position. This deficiency may be particularly present in those assemblies deployed upon unitized vehicles where the back of the cab essentially forms the front of the bed. Applicant has discovered that substantially all of this undesirable moisture, in many of these prior tonneau assemblies, especially those deployed upon these unitized vehicles, enters the bed in the space located between the back of the cab of the vehicle and the tonneau cover assembly.
There is therefore a need for a tonneau cover assembly which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and which substantially prevents water or moisture from entering into the bed, especially in the area between the back or rear of the cab and the tonneau cover assembly. There is also a need for such a tonneau cover assembly which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and which is further adapted to allow a tonneau cover to be relatively quickly, easily and selectively moved between a first stored position and a second operative bed overlaying position. Applicant's invention addresses these drawbacks associated with these prior tonneau cover assemblies and provides a new and useful tonneau cover assembly having improved moisture drainage characteristics.